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September 17, 2025
 

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METALS

An employee operates at a production facility of Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, this month.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 27, 2023
Ukraine's once-mighty steel sector choked by export blockade
Until producers can get steel to markets via the Black Sea, where Russia continues to pose a threat to shipping, there is little prospect of recovery.
Asteroid mining only works in a science-fiction world where metals are thousands of times more expensive than they are today.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2023
Commercial asteroid mining has a astronomical cost issue
Asteroid mining only works in a science-fiction world where metals are thousands of times more expensive than they are today.
A lithium mine near Itinga, Minas Gerais state, Brazil
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2023
We’re not even close to running out of green minerals
Rising reserves challenge fears of mineral shortages in green transition.
Gold prices in Japan are hovering around a record high of ¥10,000 per gram — up around 18% since January.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2023
Gold bugs in Japan reaping rewards as yen weakness persists
Domestic prices for the precious metal are now hovering around a record high of ¥10,000 per gram — up around 18% since January.
The Environment Ministry plans to launch a survey in fiscal 2024 on how manufacturers recycle plastics and metals contained in industrial waste.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2023
Japan to conduct survey on closed-loop recycling
Closed-loop recycling is spreading in recent years on the back of improvements in technology to remove impurities from recyclable waste.
The impact of China's latest metal curbs will likely be limited, experts say, as the United States is already looking for alternative supply chains.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 11, 2023
China’s gallium curbs to have limited impact on U.S. defense
China said the recent export controls are necessary to safeguard national security, but experts believe this is a way for the country to hit back at U.S.
Green marks the spot where a fissure formed, then fused back together in this artistic rendering of nanoscale self-healing in metal. Red arrows indicate the direction of the pulling force that unexpectedly triggered the phenomenon.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 21, 2023
Self-healing metal? It's not just the stuff of science fiction
Scientists have witnessed pieces of pure platinum and copper spontaneously heal cracks caused by metal fatigue during nanoscale experiments.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 13, 2023
A showdown in Jamaica is deciding the fate of the deep ocean
Seabed mining has the potential to become a trillion-dollar industry as the transition to electric vehicles spurs demand for metals like cobalt and nickel.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jul 11, 2023
As demand for rare metals rises, rush to mine seabed prompts calls for moratorium
Governments are racing to obtain a secure supply of critical minerals for low-carbon technologies, but have also made major commitments to protect nature.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2023
Xi’s metal curbs risk backfiring as G7 seeks China alternative
China’s decision to control the export of two key metals showed it has some power to retaliate against the U.S., Japan and Europe, but the measure is also a double-edged sword.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2023
China restricts export of chipmaking metals in clash with U.S.
Gallium and germanium, along with their chemical compounds, will be subject to export controls meant to protect Chinese national security starting Aug. 1, China’s Ministry of Commerce said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2023
Advances in solar panel technology set to squeeze silver supply
The precious metal, in paste form, provides a conductive layer on the front and the back of silicon solar cells, and newer cells may need up to twice as much per watt of power generated.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jun 23, 2023
Smaller aerospace suppliers scramble for titanium and workers in shadow of travel boom
Labor shortages and delays are expected to remain a key concern for planemakers and large suppliers for more than a year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2023
Lithium producers warn supplies may not meet global EV demand
Staffing shortages, inflation and delays in issuing mine permission may hinder efforts to source enough of the battery metal to meet aggressive electrification timelines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 5, 2023
Copper mine flashes warning of ‘huge crisis’ for world supply
Insiders say that the sheer length of time involved in bringing on new mines can rarely be shortened, even when exploration money is spent and a deposit found.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2023
Recycling offers hope to safeguard net zero goals despite soaring metal demand
Concerns are currently growing about the environmental impacts of mining and producing metals required for clean technologies, from damage to biodiversity to rising emissions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 22, 2023
Scientists newly confirm 1,350 km metallic structure at heart of Earth's inner core
The research studied waves from 200 earthquakes with magnitudes above 6.0 ricocheting like ping pong balls up to five times within the planet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2023
We’re not even close to running out of green minerals
A U.S. Geological Survey suggests concerns over the securing of materials needed to shift to cleaner energy such as lithium, cobalt, copper and others may be overblown.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2023
Germany's Olaf Scholz visits South America in race with China for lithium
Nations like Germany are competing fiercely for increasingly scarce resources, and access to metals and rare earths is crucial for the transition to cleaner and more advanced economies.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2023
How Europe needs freight trains to cross Russia from China
Russia is at the center of a rail cargo route from China supplying Western arms manufacturers with a steady supply of rare metals used in modern weaponry.
Haneda Airport security staff arrested over theft
Tokyo police have arrested a 21-year-old security inspector at Haneda Airport after he allegedly stole cash from a passenger during a baggage inspection.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
White House threatens broad crackdown on liberal groups
FBI Director Kash Patel (right) listens to senior White House adviser Stephen Miller speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Pole vault rivals in awe after Duplantis has another historic night in Tokyo
Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole fault final during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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